


Figmental

by theslymaknae



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Kinda, M/M, fluff (probably), jaemin is just blinding, jeno isnt very smart, just cute nomin being cute, summer fling au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 10:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14103186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theslymaknae/pseuds/theslymaknae
Summary: Jeno had a crush.Repeat, Jeno might have had a crush.At this point, he didn't know whether Nana was real or not.





	Figmental

“Jeno, I’ve liked you for months now. I think you’re very handsome and smart, would you like to go out with me?” Came a confession from a blushing girl, if he paid extra attention he could hear the tension dangling in the air. A typical Tuesday.

Like practiced, Jeno offered her a small smile. Something sincere enough as to not make her feel bad but generic enough as to not led her wrong.

_“I’m very flattered by your confession, but I’m really sorry. I already have someone I like.”_

 

**

 

Donghyuck slung his arm casually over Jeno’s shoulder exactly 15 seconds later. A wide grin on his face, “What’s that? The third this month? Come on, man.” Donghyuck shook his head.

“Shut up Hyuck.”

“Seriously though, this ‘ _Nana’_ person? The one that got you super whipped? Man they must be one hell of a person to make you so smitten. But on the bright side, the harder you are to get, the more desirable you are, really. I got 50 dollars on the pool for you as prom king.”

Jeno laughed, punching Donghyuck’s sides playfully as he shoved his best friend off.

“ _Again_ , shut up Hyuck you don’t even know Nana.”

“Exactly! You never told me! Talk to me already about this ‘Nana.’ It’s almost a year since you first brought the name up.”

“Never.” He laughed.

 

Donghyuck was indeed his best friend but there’s no way Jeno would tell him about Nana.

Because, here’s the thing.

Nana was most probably figmental. An imaginary friend he’d met over the summer last year. Nana was imaginary and as understanding as Donghyuck is, Jeno didn’t think that he’d want to tell him about his imaginary crush.

How can he not?

Nana appeared so suddenly one day. Yellow shirt and blinding smile. So captivating even under pouring rain. (Now that Jeno thought about it, it was summer, and it was _kind of_ weird to have rain pouring so hard that day.) He was standing under their front patio, probably seeking shelter from the rain when Jeno offered him to come inside. Jeno had never seen him around before, and he _knew_ everyone in his neighborhood.

“Sorry, my parents are out of town and I don’t know where mom kept all the guest stuff. You can change into my clothes.” Jeno remembered him offering Nana his old pajama.

“I’m seriously fine, not even that drenched.” He smiled. _So captivating_. His smile was one of the things that made Jeno sure he was imagining the other guy. No one in real life smiles that brightly, not even those actors on toothpaste commercials.

“Thanks for sheltering me in, by the way. I’m Nana.”

“Jeno.”

 

It was the first time he got the other’s name. _Nana._ Just Nana, without a first or a last name. Somehow the name rolls beautifully in his tongue.

“So, you said you’re alone? Parents out of town?” Nana asked him as he turned the TV on, it was some afternoon news. He nodded his answers while switching between channels, looking for a fun variety show.

Then he heard Nana laugh, a mere chuckle, really.

“Don’t you think you shouldn’t tell this to a complete stranger? I could be a felon, posing as a normal teenager to try and get inside people’s house. Next thing you know your TV’s been stolen and you can’t watch running man anymore.”

Jeno grinned, “Naah. I don’t think you’re a criminal.” _There’s no way someone as good looking as you commit a felony, beside stealing a heart or two. Or three._

But then again, Jeno should really brush up on character judging. He’s bad.

“You should really brush up your judging skill. You literally let a stranger inside and nonchalantly offered them to watch TV together.” Nana shook his head, voicing out the same words that ran through Jeno's head.

“But I’m not a criminal though. Rest assured.” He added.

**

 

“Hey, Jeno, is it Im Jin Ah?” Donghyuck asked him one day during lunch, he was back at his ‘Finding Nana’ agenda. Today he even got Renjun and Chenle tagging along next to him, speculating on several ‘Nana’s.

“Are you serious? After School Nana? Do you seriously think that a grown up celebrity would hang out with some random teenager from some random neighborhood?” Jeno rolled his eyes, Donghyuck’s guesses were getting wilder and weirder.

“You’re right. There’s no way it’s a celebrity. You’re pretty pathetic anyway.”

“Hey!”

 

“ _You’re pathetic, Jeno.”_ Nana laughed, pointing at the screen showing ‘4:1’ in red, blinking number.

“Shut up man! I haven’t been playing this game in forever, and you’re just lucky!” He retaliated, groaning to his cushion pillow. It was the second day he’d played with Nana. Turns out they shared the same interest in computer game, amidst having different favorite games.

 

He met Nana at the park that day; he was playing with someone’s dog. Chasing dandelions. Nana greeted him first, thanking him for yesterday before they both went on talking about robots and games over ice cream.

He learnt that Nana was just like the other teenage boys his age. He’s into transformers, hip hop, marvel superheroes, and computer games. He was just like his other school friends but with an extra dazzling personality, his friend Donghyuck couldn’t relate.

Their conversations about computer game then brought Nana back to Jeno’s house, where they played Pro Evolution Soccer and watched running man over pizza.

Then it’s dusk and Nana excused himself.

**

 

He went home with Chenle that day because Donghyuck and Renjun got caught up in their soccer practice. Jeno enjoyed it actually. Chenle was very fun to be around and only 50% as shitty as Donghyuck is. They talked about many things and even stopped to buy some churros on their way home.

“So, hyung, who’s this Nana person Donghyuck hyung kept talking about yesterday?”

Jeno laughed, “Lele, you really shouldn’t be listening to Donghyuck. Nana is my friend, although Hyuck made it sound like he was my boyfriend or something.”

“Is he though? Your boyfriend?”

“Meh. He isn’t. Honestly I never met him anymore. I don’t even know why Hyuck even got the idea that I’m in love with Nana.”

“His name is Nana? Just Nana.”

“Yep, that’s what I know.”

 

Just Nana. Nana without any first or last name. A search that yields at least a hundred profile on Instagram alone, a name so common in Korea. Both as real names and aliases. He was tempted though, to click on each of those profiles and go on a hunt to find Nana.

Before he got reminded that Nana, probably, isn’t even real.

Nana left as suddenly as his appearance a week ago. Without goodbye, without a trace. As Jeno mentioned before, Nana wasn’t from his neighborhood so no one else knew him, sadly.

His parents were out of town every time Nana came by, Jeno couldn’t really ask them about an unknown (probably imaginary) boy named Nana who came over every day to play games and watch variety shows. Jeno still had their match scores on his computer, but was it really the most reliable proof of Nana’s existence?

Alas. He just had to shrug it off. Nana may or may not exist, whatever.

Except, Jeno really couldn’t get his mind off Nana, and his blinding smile, and his kind eyes.

**

 

Three weeks and another confession later, Jeno found himself alone in a café near his house. He had his biology book open but God knows he hadn’t read a word since. His phone felt warm in his hands; from all the scrolling he did earlier on Instagram, another futile attempt to find a fragment of proof of Nana’s existence.

Donghyuck was supposed to be here from an hour ago, they agreed on working on their science assignment together. _Where the hell is he?_

“Jeno?” A voice came from behind him, much softer and hesitating than Donghyuck’s usual tone.

Jeno turned around, ready to nag at his best friend’s tardiness. _“Dude you’re la—”_

… But it wasn’t Donghyuck.

 

Standing in front of him with a blueberry scone was Nana. This time with a plead shirt and white T shirt underneath, but still the same blinding smile.

“So it’s really you! I was hesitating at first, kinda afraid that I am greeting the wrong person.” Nana greeted him.

“Nana? You’re real? You’re not just my imagination?”

“I a—What?”

**

 

“Wait hold on, what were you saying?” Nana said, burying his head onto his hands as he laughed his lungs out. “Oh god Jeno. You think I’m.. _imaginary?_ Dude you ate too much pizza or what?”

“Shut up, Nana.” Jeno grumbled, completely aware of how red he’d become. He didn’t know whether to blame it on his embarrassing accusation or on the fact that _Nana_ is now actually sitting on front of him and _is_ laughing because of him.

“No, seriously. It was the first time in my life that someone thought I was imaginary. What made you think that?”

_Beside the fact that you're a tad bit too handsome to be real? Let's see.._

“Well, you appear and disappear so suddenly, and no one else but me knew you.” Jeno explained, all the while looking everywhere but the laughing guy in front of him.

“Plus you’re not from my neighborhood so I don’t know how you ended up in my front patio.” He added quickly.

 

“I was Doyoung hyung’s cousin you moron, his house is like… a block away from yours. I was spending the summer vacation there.” He explained, “I was on my way home from the park when the rain started to pour so I look for the nearest shelter, _that's_ how I ended up on your front patio.”

“My parents came to pick me up on the day I ‘disappear.’ I was supposed to spend the rest of my summer break on my grandma’s house anyway. I’m kinda sorry I didn’t get to say good bye though.” He continued, “But I seriously didn’t think that you would think I’m just an imaginary friend. I thought what we had was _real_ , Jeno.” He added playfully, earning a soft punch from the latter.

Nana laughed again.

“Seriously though, Na. You never gave me your info and I couldn’t find you on social media. (Do you know there are hundreds of Nana on every social media platform?) And you know us millennials, if it’s not on Instagram then it didn’t exist.”

“What kind of thinking is that even? And I left you my gaming ID! I was hoping that you’d contact me on one of the games though.”

“I’m not even sure that’s real too.” Jeno chided, shaking his head dramatically. This time Nana punched him.

 

The person sitting in front of him was very real and very much like the version of Nana from last summer. Only slightly taller (and more handsome but Lee Jeno is never going to admit that, not even to himself.)

 

“Stop staring at me, I’m seriously a real person.”

Had he been staring? My.

“My name’s Na Jaemin though, Nana’s my nickname. _If_ you run that on twitter and on Instagram you’d surely stumble on my page.” Nana continued, still munching on his food.

Jeno blinked, not really knowing how to respond to that but nevertheless thankful for the essential information. He made mental notes to himself to search for Nana’s profile (and follow him, and maybe screenshot a few page for proof).

 

“So, why are you back here? It’s not summer break yet.”

“I don’t know. I’m on midterm break and my parents offered me to go to Doyoung’s. Beside, I kinda miss you, Jeno.”

Oh?

Oh.

Jeno might know how to respond to this last one.

_Maybe._

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this fic is probably an embodiment of how much I adore Nana’s smile (and Nana in general). I plead guilty. 
> 
>  
> 
> (also: spare me for any weird characterization tis my third day in the nct fandom uwu)


End file.
